NASHUA, N.H. – Joel Hendrix (Kane'ohe, Hawaii) notched a match-high 13 kills and hit .480 and rookie Jose Vargas (Lawrence, Mass.) was nearly perfect at the net with 10 kills and no errors in 13 attempts to hit .769 guiding host Daniel Webster past Wentworth Institute, 3-0 in a regional matchup Wednesday night at Mario Vagge Gymnasium.
Joe Walz (East Longmeadow, Mass.) added seven kills and the Eagle offense hit .344 as DWC defeated Wentworth for the first time since 1998 and only the second time ever while grabbing its first win of the season. The Eagles improved to 1-4 overall with set scores of 25-16, 25-22, 25-19.
Ariel Frias (Lawrence) dished out 30 assists while Casey Monahan (Shelton, Conn.) pulled in a match-high 11 digs.
Ross Burdett (Needham, Mass.) led the Leopards (4-3) with 12 kills and three aces, while Brian Mann (East Freetown, Mass.) added 10 kills. Tyler Moriarty (Wilbraham, Mass.) racked up 33 assists and eight digs. Wentworth hit .177 as a team.
DWC posted advantages in total kills (40-35), aces (6-4) and digs (39-31) but had a decisive advantage in total blocks (10-3) which helped the Eagles control the net.
DWC never trailed in the opener as Hendrix knocked down six kills in nine attempts and Walz added three while Mann had four for WIT and Burdett had three. DWC hit a season-best .600 and Vargas racked up three aces.
The teams traded leads four times and forged six ties in set two with Vargas knocking down five kills and Hendrix four. Wentworth looked to grab momentum as DWC was called for a rotation violation giving the Leopards a late 21-20 lead and led 22-21 after a Burdett kill.
But Vargas answered with a kill down the right line and DWC was aided by three straight Leopard attack errors to steal the 25-22 win and the much-needed momentum.
DWC jumped ahead early (8-3) in the third before a Leopard rally keyed by kills from Sean Donahue (Lincoln, R.I.) and Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.) gave the visitors a 15-13 lead.
But Hendrix went to the service line and rattled off five straight points while Ryan Howdeshell (Fairbanks, Alaska), Walz, and Darrien Mason (Farmington, Conn.) added kills as part of a 6-1 run for a 19-16 Eagle lead.
Howdeshell would later go to the line and notch four straight points helped by Walz and Hendrix kills for a 24-17 lead and Vargas would close it out with his 10th and final kill for the 25-17 final.
The Eagles return to action on Saturday when they travel to Johnson & Wales for a regional tri-match that included Regis, weather permitting, beginning at 11:00 a.m. Wentworth is in action on Sunday when the Leopards battle Newbury and Mount Ida in a tri-match at Newbury.
(Recap Courtesy of Daniel Webster Sports Information)
